Abstract: A ball and socket joint, for example, for an axle system of a motor vehicle. The ball and socket joint has an essentially ring-shaped or pot-shaped joint housing (1), in the essentially cylindrical interior space of which a ball shell 2 can be arranged. The ball 3 of a ball pivot 4 or of a ball sleeve 8 can be accommodated in the ball shell 2 in a slidingly movable manner. The bearing surface 10 of the ball shell 2 is essentially the same as the surface of an ellipsoid of revolution, whose smaller semiaxis coincides with the axial direction of the ball and socket joint. The construction has advantages in terms of service life, fail-safe operation and load-bearing capacity. The more uniform surface pressure distribution in the bearing gap between the ball shell and joint ball guarantees reduced wear and lower moments of friction.